I asked very specific questions in my last post. The above generalities -- while perhaps comforting to some -- do not even come close to answering those questions.

The explanations are long and involved. I suggest that everyone check out the link I posted. I assure you, All your questions are answered there. Afterwards, we can take up all your other specific questions, one at a time.

http://www.innerquest.org.ph/secretsofthekingdom/iq3261reincarnationkarma.htm

You don't have to agree to anything. Just give it some thought.

i have never assumed that reincarnation was not forced.  it is true we are not these bodies we wear.  what makes up what we usually think of as being ourselves is a collection of various elements (ie: form, sensation, emotion, thought, and consciousness)  when we die these things scatter and are reborn.  for example your physical form decomposes and becomes part of the ecosystem.  its all very lion kingish.  the consciousness though seeks out a new body.  due to deep seeded craving and desire for a family, a home, a body.  the consciousness is forced back into a new life.  this is not good as this existence in all of its various forms is not our natural state.  life as we know is filled with sickness, suffering, loss, the pain of being separated from loved ones, the pain of being joined with those we don't care for, etc.  

one could argue that life is filled with beauty and wonderful things.  this is true.  this very human existence is exceedingly rare and precious.  none the less our lives are still filled with suffering.  

rebirth is the law we are forced under by the deep karmic seeds in our consciousness but it is not the extent of who we are or what we are capable of experiencing.  

of course this is all a very buddhist understanding of it and i'm sure many will disagree.  but variety is one of those things that does make life beautiful

kurukulla

Reincarnation is not a force that negates free will. When those people were told that they would have to reincarnate later, who was it that told them that? No one has control over you but yourself. It is free will that keeps us moving in this cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Reincarnation is just a part of that cycle, a cycle that each of us has agreed to coexist with. Once someone has completed all the things that they came here to do they can ascend into another type of cycle. Just because something external is forced upon someone does not mean that their free will has been compromised. Everyone always has a choice as to how they will react to a situation.
And who's notion is it that we will not be punished for things we do wrong on Earth? What makes us so special that we don't have to face the consequences of our actions, our choices. We think judgment is something that takes place in heaven or somewhere outside the body when in fact judgment takes place inside ourselves, every day. We are responsible for every thought, feeling and action we have.

There are 84,00,000 species of life and we as spirit soul are continuously moving in them . The form to be taken next depends on our last thought at time of death and our karma's in previous life. Hence there is no question of any choice. The choice is prior to death, that we train our senses and mind in such a way that we are able to remember "Supreme Personality of Godhead " at time of death, so that we reach him in GOLOKA and not move in cycle of birth and death .